Harboured and Encompassed, Chapter 26

[bbcphile]

It's the NEXT TO LAST CHAPTER!!! How has this happened??

Title: Harboured and Encompassed

Author: BBCPhile

Chapter: 26/27

Word Count: 8986

Pairing: Horatio Hornblower/Archie Kennedy

AO3 link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9135700/chapters/25648791

Trigger warnings: hospitals

“--And that's essentially the central premise of the final chapter of my thesis,” Horatio explained.

“Impressive!” Izzy said with a smile. “And now Archie knows all these intricacies of naval warfare, too?”

Horatio looked to his right. Archie was fast asleep, his nose pressed against Horatio’s side. He looked so peaceful, with his chest rising and falling slowly and evenly, his breath ghosting against Horatio’s hand, that Horatio had to restrain himself from leaning forward to press a kiss to Archie’s forehead, rib pain be damned. He contented himself with continuing to stroke Archie’s hair. “Most of them. Enough to be entirely prepared for his role.”

Izzy smiled again. “Well, clearly he has an excellent teacher.”

Horatio ducked his head and tried to stop the blush that threatened to make an appearance. He had trained himself to accept praise from Archie, and, occasionally, Will, but receiving it from anyone else always felt profoundly uncomfortable.

“I’m sure it helps that Archie’s always been a quick study,” Lady Kennedy said.

Izzy snorted. “The challenge was getting him to put his mind to it.”

Lady Kennedy smiled and shook her head. “He’d memorize an act of a play in a weekend, but heaven help anyone who insisted that he complete his maths assignments.”

Izzy chuckled. “Even marathoning Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, and Proof didn’t help.”

Oh dear. More allusions to popular culture. Did all the Kennedys do that? Horatio frowned as he scanned his memory for something to associate with those titles.

“A Beautiful Mind’s one of Victoria’s favorite films,” Will said. “She’s always liked maths.” He paused. “And Paul Bettany,” he finished with a dry smile.

Izzy laughed. “Don’t we all?”

Horatio nearly sighed in relief as the conversation reached familiar waters. “He’s excellent in Master and Commander.”

Izzy nodded, a mischievous grin spreading over her face. “I’d guessed you’d be a fan. How do you think the Worthington Chronicles adaptation will compare?”

Horatio blinked. She’d given some thought to his film preferences? “Er, well, judging from the script, I think it’ll be at least as good. It seems fairly faithful to the spirit of the books.”

“Oh, you’ve seen the script, then?” Izzy asked.

Horatio nodded “But I’m not at liberty to say anything about the plot. Archie swore me to secrecy.”

“And he’s kept his promise,” Will said. “Can’t get him to say a thing about it.”

Izzy raised an eyebrow. “You’re a fan, too?”

Will nodded. “Ever since the first one was published. You?”

Izzy grinned. “Read them all once Archie told us he’d gotten this gig. I thought they were surprisingly fun.” She paused, then turned to look at Horatio again, a twinkle in her eye. “Especially the thinly-veiled love story between Algy and James.”

Will leaned back in his chair. “There, Horatio. Told you I wasn’t the only one.”

Horatio blushed, then ducked his head, unable to meet Will’s eyes, as the memory of those stories he’d glimpsed when he’d borrowed Will’s computer last term flashed through his mind. He set his jaw, then cleared his throat. “Er, well. Archie may have convinced me on the subject.”

“I’ll bet he did,” Izzy said, a laugh in her voice.

Will didn’t comment.

Horatio glanced up again. Will was staring down at his hands with a slight frown. What was bothering him? Surely Will should be happy that he’d finally conceded the point.

Will looked up, met Horatio’s eyes, then gave a small, crooked smile and a short, jerky nod. “Better late than never.” He paused, then glanced over at Archie. “Not surprised he saw it, too.”

Horatio smiled, his eyes slipping back to Archie. “He’s good at that sort of thing. We should watch Master and Commander together so you can hear his commentary on Aubrey and Maturin.”

Will chuckled faintly. “Maybe on my next visit.”

“You don’t live nearby, then?” Lady Kennedy asked.

Will shook his head. “Only during the school year. Horatio and I are roommates at KCL. I’m back in Chichester with my family for the summers.”

Lady Kennedy raised an eyebrow. “Chichester’s a bit of a trek from here, isn’t it? It’s good of you to come all this way.”

Will smiled and shook his head again. “I just stopped by this weekend on my way to visit my sister in London. We came straight here as soon as Archie called to tell us about the attack. It wasn’t a long trek at all.” He paused, then looked over at Horatio. “Though I’d be here even if it was,” he said quietly.

Horatio swallowed, his throat too full of emotions to make room for words. He managed a brief nod in thanks.

Will nodded back.

“How long have you two been friends?” Izzy asked.

“Going on two years,” Will said.

“And you and Archie?” Lady Kennedy asked Will.

Will glanced over at Horatio, then shrugged. “We met on Sunday,” he said with a faint, tilted smile.

Izzy and Lady Kennedy had matching expressions of surprise mixed with a hefty dose of incredulity.

Lady Kennedy recovered first. “Well, Archie did always make friends quickly,” she said with a smile.

Izzy tilted her head, then looked at Will with a mischievous grin. “And boyfriends, too.”

Will inexplicably turned slightly pink.

“How long did it take for you and Archie to get together?” she asked, turning to face Horatio.

Horatio swallowed. “Er . . . a little under twenty-four hours?”

Izzy’s grin became even broader. “That sounds like Archie. I never did hear any specifics, though. Just heard days later that Archie’d called up Tamsin, playing the ‘son of the marquess’ card like there was no tomorrow to help someone named Horatio out of a debacle with a collapsing flat and a crooked landlord.”

Will’s head jerked up, and looked from Archie, to Horatio, to Izzy and Lady Kennedy, his eyes getting slightly wider each time.

Horatio winced internally. Right. They’d neglected to mention the minor detail of Archie’s illustrious family background to Will.

Izzy tilted her head to the side. “So? How did you meet?”

Horatio swallowed. Neither his father nor Will ever asked personal questions like this. “Er, we met on my first day working at the library. He’d come in to get a Reader’s Pass. We were getting along splendidly, chatting, when he . . . er--” He paused. Should he mention the cause of the seizure? No, better stick to the version Archie had told to Will at Hannah’s bar. “--had a seizure. I followed the post-seizure protocol, escorted him home and . . . er--” we accidentally fell asleep on my sofa with my arms around him, “--stayed with him to make sure he was alright. He asked me on a date the next morning.”

Izzy frowned. “No, that can’t be right. The last specialist said they should’ve stopped with the new meds.”

Lady Kennedy hesitated, then shook her head. “Archie told me they hadn’t when we spoke last month.”

Izzy sat up straight and turned to look at Horatio. “How many has he had in the last month?” she demanded.

Horatio winced. “Er, that one . . . and, er, one last night.”

Izzy bit her lip and looked at her mother. “Should we consult another doctor?”

Lady Kennedy sighed. “I tried to convince him. He refused. Perhaps you’d have better luck.”

“Well, we have to do something,” Izzy insisted. “It’s not safe for him to have seizures at random. Is there something else wrong? More serious damage? Oh, God, Mum, what if that’s why he was unresponsive for so long?”

Horatio frowned. Izzy looked close to tears. Perhaps there was something he could do to put her mind at rest on one score. He cleared his throat. “I . . . er . . . don’t think the seizures are entirely random.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“What do you mean?” Izzy asked, narrowing her eyes.

Horatio swallowed and glanced down. “Both seizures have direct ties to Simpson. For example, the first was in response to a text his agent had sent, letting him know that Simpson had been cast in The Worthington Chronicles.”

Silence.

He looked up. Will’s hands were clenched into fists by his side, Lady Kennedy had a hand over her mouth and her eyes were welling up with tears, and Izzy was holding her mother’s free hand, her jaw jutting out in a gesture so familiar on Archie’s face that it made his chest ache.

After a moment, Lady Kennedy sighed and wiped her eyes. “That would explain why he’d stopped talking about the film--”

“--or answering our calls or emails yet again,” Izzy finished.

Horatio frowned. Surely it was an inauspicious start to meeting the family if he’d made one of them cry within an hour of meeting them. How could he make amends? He cleared his throat. “Er, I -- I apologize for bringing it up. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

Izzy shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I asked. And--” She stilled, tilted her head, and narrowed her eyes as her expression turned dangerously stormy. “--Wait. Keene texted to warn him? Fuck! Keene KNEW! He fucking knew, and he did nothing! Who else knew? Who else did he tell? Who else abandoned him? Fucking let me at them, I’ll--”

Archie’s hand twitched.

Izzy clapped a hand over her mouth and everyone stilled, hardly daring to breathe.

After a moment, Archie made a quiet little hum, then inched closer, sliding further up Horatio’s side.

Thirty seconds later, Archie’s breathing had returned to the slow, regular rise and fall of someone entirely asleep.

Horatio glanced back over to the rest of the group. Izzy’s hand was still covering her mouth, and tears were running down her cheeks as her shoulders shook. Her mother had an arm around her and was holding her tightly. Will’s forehead was as creased as he’d ever seen it.

“Why didn’t he tell me, Mum?” Izzy whispered, her breath becoming uneven. “I could have helped, I could have stopped it, I--”

“I know, darling, I know,” Lady Kennedy soothed. “Shhhh, now. It’s alright. He’s safe now.”

“But he should have been safe then, and this never should have happened, and I should have been there! I should have followed up more, made sure he was alright, pressed harder when I knew he was hiding something, when he wasn’t eating last Christmas, when he looked so horribly unhappy that I was scared for him, but I didn’t, and he almost--” Her breath hitched and she buried her face in her mother’s shoulder.

Horatio looked from Izzy to Will in mute horror. What should he do? What could he say? How could he comfort her? He only knew how to comfort Archie, and even then, it hadn’t been enough to keep Archie from collapsing, and talking with women under the best of circumstances was always vaguely terrifying, and Archie loved Izzy and it was important to get this right, and--

“Izzy, darling,” Lady Kennedy said quietly, “let’s go get some air.”

Izzy sat up and nodded, wiping furiously at her eyes which were turned towards the ground, and hurried out through the gap in the curtain, her footsteps picking up speed the further she walked.

“Please excuse us,” Lady Kennedy said, her eyes darting after her daughter. “We’ll be back shortly. It's lovely to meet you both.” She managed a quick, polite nod, then rushed out of the room.

Horatio stared after her and watched the curtain sway back and forth as his mind raced. How had that gone so poorly? He’d merely wished to set their mind at ease that Archie didn’t have additional brain damage, and he’d made them cry and beat a hasty retreat instead. Was there a set of rules for explaining the full extent of one’s boyfriend’s trauma to said boyfriend’s family that would have resulted in a better outcome? Surely, if Archie or Will had been in his position, they would have found a more successful strategy.

If only Archie were awake--

Horatio scowled. No, that was a horribly selfish thing to think. Archie needed rest. Speaking with his family while Archie slept was the least he could do.

But even that had been a disaster. Perhaps he truly was a failure as a supportive partner--

“Congratulations, Horatio.”

Horatio looked up to see Will smiling at him. He glared back. “On what?”

“You met the family. That’s quite the relationship milestone.”

Horatio rolled his eyes. “It was hardly a rousing success.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “It’s as good a meeting as was possible, given the circumstances. And you handled it well, as you always do.”

Horatio snorted.

Will frowned. “What?”

“That's patently absurd. I haven't done anything well all day. If I had, I wouldn't have a broken arm and Archie wouldn't have almost died.” He sighed and shook his head. “I don't know what I’m doing, Will. I have no idea how to help.”

Will’s frown deepend. “But you're helping right now.”

“How?” Horatio scoffed. “By running my fingers through his hair?”

“Yes,” Will said simply.

Horatio rolled his eyes. “That's not nearly enough.”

Will sighed. “You’re by his side. Providing comfort. Safety. It's what he needs now, Horatio, more than big gestures or heroics.”

“How would you know?” Horatio snapped.

Will raised an eyebrow and sat back in his chair. “I have a bit of experience with being in hospital myself.”

The scowl fell off Horatio's face instantly. “Oh, damn, Will, of course you do. I’m . . . I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking--”

Will waived Horatio’s apology away with a shake of his head. “No harm done. Just . . . don’t underestimate how much you’re helping him. Or his family.”

Horatio sighed. “How do you do that?”

Will frowned. “Do what?”

“Stay . . . . steady, like a rock, no matter what anyone says or does. You make it look so simple.” He sighed again, his eyes drifting to the foot of the bed. “I wish I were that unflappable . . . that unafraid of everything.”

Will huffed out a quiet chuckle and shook his head. “Everyone's afraid of something, Horatio.”

Horatio raised an eyebrow. “Even you?”

Will frowned. “Of course.”

Horatio rolled his eyes. “Well, I suppose if we’re being pedantic, most people are afraid of mortality.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Horatio glanced up. “Then what did you mean? What could you possibly be afraid of?”

Will stared down at his hands and shifted awkwardly. “Spiders,” he said at last.

Horatio rolled his eyes again. “That’s one thing, Will, it hardly--”

“Losing you,” Will said quietly.

Horatio blinked. He opened and closed his mouth. He frowned. Will was still staring down at his hands, his shoulders slightly hunched in.

“Will. I’m alright,” Horatio said quietly.

Will nodded, then swallowed, and continued to stare down at his hands.

Horatio’s heart clenched. He’d never seen Will look this upset before. The only thing that had come close was the two year anniversary of the day he’d lost his foot. Even steak and a good stout from his favorite pub had only gotten a hint of a smile out of him that day. But he couldn’t bring Will those things while in hospital. He cleared his throat. “Er, Will? What can I do?”

Will blinked and looked up. His eyes looked slightly damp. He sniffed slightly and shook his head. “I’m fine,” he said, his voice sounding slightly lower and more gravelly than usual.

Oh, damn it all to hell. Will was crying. Nothing made sense anymore.

How could he fix this?

He racked his brains. Will had put a hand on his knee and on Archie’s shin to comfort them. Perhaps he didn’t dislike physical contact in instances of extreme distress?

Horatio tried to move his arm to put a hand on Will’s shoulder, then hissed as red hot pain lanced through it. Oh. Of course. That was his left arm. The broken one.

Will was up and out of his seat in an instant. “Horatio? What do you need? A nurse?”

Horatio gritted his teeth and shook his head. “Nothing. It was just a miscalculation.”

Will raised an eyebrow.

Horatio rolled his eyes. “If you must know, I tried to move my arm.”

Will raised his eyebrow higher. “Why?”

Horatio sighed, rolled his eyes again, and tried not to blush. “Oh, very well. I thought it might help you if I . . . er . . . reached out to . . . er . . . comfort you . . . but . . . my left arm is closest . . . and . . . er . . . I forgot.”

Will stared at him unblinkingly for a moment, then the corner of his lips started twitching. A moment later, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. “Horatio, you--” He shook his head, scratched the back of his neck, then sat down in his chair again, his smile fading. “I’m alright, Horatio. Don’t worry about me.” He leaned forward to pat Horatio’s knee one more time, but the smile didn’t return.

Horatio frowned. How did comforting come so easily to Archie? He braced himself, took a deep breath, then slowly moved his right hand from his side and placed it over Will’s hand on his knee.

Will glanced up, his eyebrow raised with surprise, then gave him a faint smile.

Horatio felt a curious warmth flow through him as he managed a small smile back.

Will’s phone dinged.

Will pulled his hand back instantly and shifted to get his phone out of his pocket. He stared at the message on the screen. “Oh. It’s Victoria. She and Hannah are wondering when they can come in and see you both.” The phone dinged again. He huffed out a laugh. “They want us to know that if you and Archie aren’t up for company, then they will require, in their words, ‘proof of life, in the form of a phone call, picture, or video.’” He shifted in his seat, then pressed his lips together. “They’ve been here for going on five hours. Horatio, would you mind--?”

Horatio sighed, then shook his head. “It’s alright, Will. Tell them they can come in.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”

Horatio nodded. He had about two hours left in him before anything, even another surgery, would sound preferable to socializing with anyone apart from Archie or Will. He might as well make the best of it.

Will dipped his head. “I’ll tell them to come on through.” He tapped back his response, and the faint ‘whoosh’ noise signaled his success. “They’ll be pleased to see you. I think they’re both getting a bit worried.”

“It’ll be good to see them.” Horatio paused, then frowned. Victoria might find it upsetting to see him in this state. What could he do to make this easier for her? Perhaps he should sit up more to look more alert? He braced himself for the discomfort that would come with moving, then tried to push himself up with his uninjured arm. He hissed in pain, then stilled as Archie’s nose twitched. He waited, holding his breath. After a moment, Archie frowned slightly, then wriggled up higher until his head was resting on Horatio’s chest. Horatio hesitated, then wrapped his right arm around Archie. Archie smiled faintly in his sleep.

Horatio’s heart clenched, and he ignored the slight protest his ribs made as he leaned forward to press a feather-light kiss to Archie’s forehead.

A short, amused huff reached his ears. He glanced to his left. Will was watching him, a faint, tilted smile on his lips.

Horatio raised an eyebrow.

Will smiled and shook his head. “You really are doing well, Horatio,” he murmured. “You’re taking good care of him.” He paused. “As he is of you.”

Horatio hesitated. Would Will have other suggestions of how to help Archie from his own time in hospital? Will never voluntarily spoke of it, or of the incident that had rendered the prosthetic necessary, but he’d already detoured from that course today to help them both. Perhaps he would do it again? He cleared his throat. “Er, Will . . . I was wondering--”

The curtains parted, and Victoria rushed in, followed closely by Hannah. They stopped short in the threshold, Victoria’s eyes going wide as she stared in shock at Horatio’s face, then arm. “Oh, God, Horatio,” she gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, before hurrying over to Horatio’s side and reaching over to give him a gentle hug. “We’ve been so worried.”

Horatio tried to make eye contact with Will over Victoria’s head, his mind racing. What should he say? “Oh . . . er . . . hello, Victoria,” he said after a moment. “I’m . . . er . . . sorry for causing you distress. And for interrupting your time with Will.”

Victoria pulled back, her hands on her hips, and raised an eyebrow. “Horatio, you’re practically my brother. Of course I’d be here.”

Horatio blinked, his command of the English language vanishing in the face of such open affection.

Victoria rolled her eyes. “It’s not an inconvenience, if that’s what you’re worried about. I had plenty of sick and personal days saved up, and I’ve had a lovely time chatting with Hannah.” She glanced over at Hannah, who was still standing in the threshold, staring unblinkingly at Horatio and Archie.

Victoria frowned slightly. “Hannah?”

Hannah blinked, shook her head slightly, then walked a few paces closer. She swallowed, her eyes looking surprisingly wet. “Hello, Horatio. It’s good to see you awake and patched up. How’s the arm?”

Horatio floundered. What was the appropriate responses for situations like this? “Er, it’s--” painful? Uncomfortable? Unnerving? “--better, thank you.”

Hannah smiled faintly and nodded, then looked over at Archie. The smile fell off her face instantly. “How is he?” she asked quietly.

Horatio held him more tightly. “He’s out of danger. Just sleeping now. The doctor thinks he should be waking up soon.”

Victoria pulled out a chair next to Will and sat down beside him. “What happened, Will?” she asked quietly. “Why did he collapse?”

“Dehydration and exhaustion, primarily,” Will answered.

“So Izzy said,” Hannah responded, her forehead still creased.

“If it’s something so simple, then why have I seen both Izzy and Alastair in tears?” Victoria pressed. She leaned forward and put her hand on Will’s shoulder. “Will, you can tell me. How bad is it?”

Will hesitated, then shook his head. “He’ll be alright, Vicky.”

Victoria watched him intently. “No terminal diseases or tumors?”

Will shook his head with a flicker of a smile. “No, nothing like that.”

She tilted her head. “So it’s something you can’t say without Archie’s permission?”

Will narrowed his eyes. “Victoria,” he said, a vague note of warning in his voice.

“What? I’m just concerned about him. It sounded serious.” She paused, frowned, then gasped. “Oh, God, did Simpson--?” She cut herself off and stared at Will, biting her lip.

Will hesitated, shifted in his seat, glanced at Archie, and winced slightly. “It’s really not our place to say.”

Victoria look over at Hannah, who was staring back at her with her mouth hanging open.

They turned in unison to look at Archie in shocked silence.

“Shit,” Victoria muttered after a moment.

Hannah nodded, her eyes welling up with tears.

“And Simpson was right here, in hospital, near him, for hours,” Victoria said, shuddering as she looked up at Hannah again. “God, can you imagine?”

Hannah swallowed. “That would explain a fair bit.”

Horatio’s pulse started to race. They’d figured it out? How? What should he do? Perhaps he should deny everything? “I’m not sure what you--”

Hannah raised an eyebrow.

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Horatio, I worked the crisis hotline in uni, remember? I know the stats. One in twenty women in their lifetime, around 72,000 men per year in the UK alone, according to conservative estimates? It’s not uncommon.”

“I wish it were,” Hannah murmured.

Victoria frowned, then looked up and took Hannah’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Hannah blinked, glanced over, gave her a hesitant smile and nod, then looked back at Archie.

How had Hannah and Victoria intuited something that had seemed so unthinkable to him 24 hours ago? And what the hell should he do? Horatio turned to shoot a pleading glance at Will. Will met his eyes, frowned, shifted again, then shrugged helplessly.

Horatio pressed his lips together. Even Will was at a loss. He swallowed and held Archie more tightly, wishing desperately he knew what to do next.

Victoria looked back over to Horatio, then bit her lip again. “Um, look, Horatio, I know how you like research. I still have some links to articles and pamphlets you might find helpful, including some designed for friends and families of survivors. I can email them to you if you’d like.”

Will and Horatio looked at each other again, still entirely tongue-tied. How could they answer without confirming or denying anything?

Victoria smiled faintly. “Ah, of course. How about this: I’ll email them to you in the interests of spreading knowledge, and you can read them or not as the spirit moves you? And you can even share them with Archie if he finds himself interested?”

Will raised an eyebrow at Horatio. “Nothing wrong with a little knowledge,” he suggested quietly.

Horatio frowned. It did seem foolish to turn down additional information. And if it could help Archie . . .

He pressed his lips together, then nodded slowly. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” he said at last.

Victoria breathed a sigh of relief. “Ok. Good.”

They lapsed into an awkward silence.

After a minute, Victoria cleared her throat. “So, Horatio,” she began, a smile playing on her lips, “Will was telling me the other day about a new biography of Nelson coming out soon. What have you heard about it?”

Horatio blinked as he reeled from conversational whiplash. “Er, well, the initial reports suggest that--”

The curtain pulled open and Lord Kennedy strode into the room, with Alastair close behind.

Horatio swallowed, his heart racing at the prospect of having to face them without Archie’s assistance. How did one talk to a marquess and an earl, especially under such circumstances?

Lord Kennedy frowned and glanced about him. “Where are my wife and daughter?” he asked.

“They went outside for a short walk about half an hour ago,” Hannah said immediately.

Lord Kennedy frowned further and turned to face her. “And who are you?” he asked, somewhat imperiously.

“Hannah Clayton, Archie's neighbor here in Greenwich,” she said with a faint smile. “You must be Archie's father. I met Izzy earlier in the waiting room.”

“Hannah saved the day by knocking Simpson out with a fire extinguisher to stop him attacking Horatio,” Victoria jumped in.

Lord Kennedy blinked, then looked to his left at where Victoria was sitting.

“Oh, and I’m Victoria. Will’s sister,” she added. “Pleased to meet you.”

Lord Kennedy nodded, looking somewhat at sea. “I see. It’s . . . good of you both to come. And, Ms. Clayton,” he cleared his throat, “thank you for your act of bravery. You’ve done us all a great service.”

Hannah’s gaze drifted towards the floor. “Just glad I was home,” she murmured.

Lord Kennedy nodded, looked about him, then cleared his throat. “And, er, this is my eldest, Alastair.”

Alastair stood up straighter upon hearing his name and uncrossed his arms from his chest. “Hello,” he said with a thin, unconvincing smile and a slightly stiff nod.

Hannah and Victoria nodded back.

Everyone lapsed into awkward silence.

Lord Kennedy hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Horatio . . . How's your arm?”

Oh dear God, not this again. He swallowed. “F-fine, thank you, my Lord.”

Hannah and Victoria glanced at Horatio, then at Lord Kennedy, their eyes widening.

Lord Kennedy nodded. “Good. Good. Glad to hear it.” He paused. “We know some excellent doctors in London, and we've been more than pleased with the quality of their care. I could make the introduction, should you desire an expert opinion.”

Horatio blinked as Archie’s performance for Mr. Foster drifted through his mind. Archie had emulated his father perfectly, down to the hand gestures, inflection, and tone of command. “Er, t-thank you, my Lord. But my father’s a doctor, so I'm sure he’ll have recommendations of his own.”

“Ah! A doctor’s son,” Lord Kennedy said, nodding. “What’s his speciality?”

Horatio’s throat felt suddenly dry. “He’s a general practitioner.”

Alastair tilted his head slightly. “Where’s his practice? Kensington? Chelsea?”

Horatio shook his head. “Kent.”

“Oh,” Alastair said, his forehead wrinkling.

Another silence fell.

“So, Horatio,” Lord Kennedy started again, “Isabelle tells me you're at King’s College London. I’m a Cambridge man myself, but I've heard it's an excellent institution. How do you find it?”

Horatio tried not to squirm under the interrogation. “I . . . er, enjoy it.”

Alastair nodded. “What are you studying?”

“War studies, specializing in naval history, as is Will.”

Alastair frowned slightly as he looked at both of them. “Huh. That’s a bit dry and esoteric, isn’t it?”

Horatio tried not to bristle. “On the contrary. All the modules I’ve taken on the subject have been both informative and engaging.”

“Ah. Right. Of course. And . . . er, how about the uni as a whole?” Alastair continued.

“It has good roommates,” Will added, nodding in Horatio's direction.

“Ah, right, you’re roommates,” Alastair mused. “That takes me back. I had a single at uni, of course, so I haven't had to suffer through sharing a room since my Eton days.”

Horatio set his jaw. “Given my own experiences on the subject, I'd be loath to call it suffering.”

Alastair’s eyes opened wide and he cleared his throat. “Oh, naturally. Er, glad it worked out for you both.” He licked his lips, glanced at his father, then back at Horatio, then at Will. “So, Will. How about you? What prompted you to study old boats?”

Will raised an eyebrow again, then shrugged. “I like water, the Service, and ships. It seemed like a logical thing to study.”

Alastair blinked. “Oh, you served?”

Will nodded. “Three years.”

Alastair frowned. “Why did you stop?”

Horatio winced. Victoria glared daggers at Alastair.

Will raised an eyebrow, scanned Alastair's face for some sign that this was a joke, then pointedly looked down at his prosthesis, its black metal clearly visible from his shorts to the floor.

Alastair followed Will’s gaze, his eyes landing on Will’s prosthesis. “Oh,” he said with a slight frown. He tilted his head and took a closer look. His eyes flew open wide. “OH!” he said again, turning pale, then pink. “I didn’t mean to say . . . er, that is, I wasn’t . . . um . . . oh bugger.” He trailed off, sighed, then ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I know I’m bungling this all up. Not my best showing, and all that.” He took a deep breath. “Will, I apologize for my insensitivity. Thank you for your service to our country.”

Will nodded once. “No harm done.”

Alastair managed another faint smile. “And Horatio, I’m pleased you and Archie have . . . have found each other. Thank you for being there for him.” He sighed, and his eyes slipped back to his brother. “God knows he needed it,” he said quietly.

Horatio blinked in surprise, still smarting from his earlier remarks. But his thanks seemed genuine enough, and he was Archie’s brother, after all. He nodded. “There’s no place I’d rather be than by his side.”

Alastair looked up and met his eyes, his eyebrow raised slightly. After a moment, he nodded slowly. “So I see,” he said with a broader, slightly lopsided smile.

The curtain slid further open, and Izzy marched in again, her head held high, followed closely by her mother. “Oh, good. Getting to know our new friends, Alastair?” Izzy asked as they hovered by the entrance, her slight congestion the only evidence of how she’d spent the last thirty minutes.

Alastair gave a sheepish smile. “Trying to.” He looked at Horatio and Will with an apologetic shrug. “Izzy and Archie are the ones with the flair for conversation, I’m afraid. Although Izzy tends to rely heavily on the interrogative. We used to call it the Izzy-inquisition.”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Is this still about Jane? Alastair, I was 14.”

Alastair raised an eyebrow. “I’d be willing to bet good money on the fact that you interrogated Horatio just as thoroughly as you did her. It lasted, what, an hour and a half?”

Izzy rolled her eyes again. “I think I’ve matured at least a bit in the intervening decade. I know better than to go full throttle when getting to know my siblings’ significant others.”

Will shot Victoria a pointed look. Victoria blushed slightly. Horatio frowned. When had Will brought a date home? Had it been recently? Was it that woman Will had gone on a date with in his first term? Lydia, or Lilith, or something like that? Why hadn’t Will told him? Horatio shook his head. It didn’t matter.

And, in any event, after the interrogation Victoria had subjected him to when Will had introduced him to the family, he felt somewhat sorry for the poor woman Will must have brought home. Perhaps that’s why Will had never mentioned it.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough,” Lady Kennedy said quietly.

Will’s phone dinged. He pulled his phone from out of his pocket, then smiled faintly. “Your father texted, Horatio. He’s just parking now.” He glanced up from the phone and met Horatio’s eyes, his stolid gaze a promise to prepare his father for the crowd and the circumstances that lay in wait. “I’ll go show him in.”

He stood up, and Izzy and Lady Kennedy stepped to the side to make room for him to pass. He nodded to Horatio with a brief smile, then walked out through the curtain.

Izzy and Lady Kennedy took up places next to Archie’s side of the bed.

“How is he, Horatio?” Lady Kennedy asked. “Any change?”

Horatio shook his head. “Still fast asleep.”

She frowned, then nodded. “He does tend to sleep for extended periods after a seizure.” She paused. “Just usually not this deeply.”

“He had another seizure?” Alastair asked, frowning. “But the new doctor assured us they’d stop.”

“Exactly what I said,” Izzy said, glaring at her mother.

Lady Kennedy’s eyelids fluttered briefly. “Yes, that's what we'd been told. But apparently the specialist was wrong. And Archie refused to get a second opinion.”

Alastair's eyes opened wide. “What? Why? How could he not take this more seriously? Doesn’t he know it’s not safe to gamble with his health?”

Lady Kennedy sighed. “He’s doing the best he can, love,” she said quietly. “It’s not always that easy.”

Alastair frowned. “So, it’s possible that his collapsing was entirely unrelated to forgetting to eat. Something else might be wrong, something the doctors haven’t found yet?”

Izzy put a hand on Alastair’s shoulder. “No. It’s not going to be like that, Alastair. There’s no mystery illness, no hidden time bomb.”

“Then will someone tell me why my little brother almost died today? Because that’s the only explanation that makes any sense,” Alastair said, his voice nearly breaking.

Izzy squeezed Alastair’s shoulder, then glanced at Horatio. She bit her lip, hesitated, then raised an eyebrow.

Horatio’s heart surged to his throat. What could he say without violating Archie’s trust?

“If there’s anything you feel you could share,” Lady Kennedy began, “we’d greatly appreciate it.”

Lord Kennedy nodded, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Please, Horatio,” he said, his voice sounding almost hoarse. “How did this happen?”

Horatio swallowed, looked down at Archie, then nodded. He could only hope that Archie would approve of this decision. Surely he wouldn’t want his family to be tortured by uncertainty. “He . . . er . . hadn’t really slept since Saturday night.”

Alastair’s eyes grew wide. “Why?”

Horatio pressed his lips together as his mind raced to put together an adequate explanation. “Because Simpson had texted around 1 on Monday morning to threaten to ambush him in Greenwich.”

“Oh, God,” Alastair said as he turned pale.

Horatio nodded. “And Simpson did. He showed up at the Caird and . . . caught Archie while I was off closing up for the day. I arrived in time to keep Simpson from --” he swallowed as his stomach lurched at the memory, “from . . . doing anything, but his presence had caused harm enough. Archie spent the next twelve hours at my flat dealing with . . . after-effects of the encounter.”

“Which means?” Lord Kennedy prompted. Lady Kennedy took his hand.

“Er--” Horatio glanced down at Archie. Damn it, what was the right thing to do? “He was--” in a state of constant panic, with regular screaming nightmares, “--upset. He was having difficulty breathing, he had a seizure that lasted three and a half minutes, and was unable to eat or sleep. I believe that he’d been unable to keep food or drink down as well, although he didn’t say so explicitly.”

“Oh,” Alastair said quietly.

“We realized the next morning that he’d left his anticonvulsants at his flat, so I went back to get them. Simpson was there. We fought, he broke my arm, Hannah intervened, and I lost consciousness. When I awoke, Archie was there. He’d come, despite the post-seizure exhaustion, despite everything, to be--” his voice wobbled, “--with me.” He swallowed, then took a deep breath. “I don’t know how he made it here. When I left the flat, he could hardly stand on his own.”

“He took a cab,” Hannah said quietly.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“I called, and he left the instant I told him what had happened. He didn’t even hesitate. And then he stayed, even after knowing that Simpson was being held here for concussion treatment.” Hannah sighed. “I don’t know how he did that.” She blinked repeatedly, then shook her head. “But, in any event, he was looking a bit the worse for wear. Glazed eyes, not noticing when people were talking to him, unsteady on his feet, and seeming more than a little disorientated. I thought it was panic, or maybe shock. I didn’t realize he was--”

Hannah trailed off, her eyes drifting to the bed. Victoria hesitated, then reached out and took her hand. Hannah glanced up and gave her a hint of a smile.

“Were you there when he collapsed?” Lady Kennedy asked Hannah.

Hannah shook her head.

“Will was,” Victoria said quietly. “He texted me, after Archie was out of danger. He said they’d been sitting down in the stairwell, talking, and Archie got up too quickly and keeled over.”

“He fell down the stairs?” Alastair said, his eyes wide with horror.

“No, Will caught him before he hit the ground and held him up until the gurney arrived,” Horatio said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Er . . . I asked the same question. That’s what Will told me,” he explained, trying not to flush under the sudden scrutiny.

“He neglected to mention that detail,” Victoria said quietly, as her eyes slid back to Archie.

Horatio frowned as he followed her gaze. Why wouldn’t Will mention it? Perhaps because Victoria didn’t ask? Because he was distracted?

He glanced up. Lord Kennedy was staring at Archie, blinking repeatedly, his lips pressed in a tight line, and his jaw jutting forward.

“I see,” Lord Kennedy said at last. He cleared his throat again, then swallowed. “I’m . . . grateful for the information. And for what you all did for Archibald. It seems he’s found some loyal friends.” He hesitated, then glanced over at Horatio. “And a worthy . . . er . . . partner.”

Horatio blinked in surprise. “Er . . . t-thank you, my Lord.”

Lord Kennedy gave him a faint smile. “Of course.”

“He’s this way,” Will’s quiet voice floated through the ward with two sets of footsteps.

Horatio swallowed and glanced towards the curtain’s opening. His father disliked socializing at least as much as he did, preferring individual interactions to groups, and there were so many people for him to meet. Including Archie. Horatio’s heart started beating more quickly. His father had sounded pleased when he’d mentioned his new relationship over email, and had of course expressed his wish to meet Archie, but he certainly couldn’t have envisioned it being in hospital, with his son beaten and Archie unconscious. And what had Will said to prepare him for the scene he’d find behind the curtain? Did his father now know why Archie was unconscious? As a doctor, he’d certainly never hold it against him, but even so, it was hardly the idyllic meeting he’d been planning.

The curtain pulled open, and his father walked into their enclosure, his eyes immediately going to the bed. He smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners, then looking slightly damp.

“Horatio,” he said quietly, taking the few steps toward the bed and holding out his hand. Horatio managed to free his right hand from Archie’s hair long enough to take it. “It’s good to see you safe.” He patted Horatio’s hand with his other one before relinquishing it. “And this is Archie, then?” he asked, with a cautious smile, nodding at the man sleeping soundly in Horatio’s arms.

Horatio nodded as he grasped desperately for some way to convey how important this meeting was to him, the depth of his feelings for Archie, how much Archie had suffered, and how terrifyingly close he’d come to losing him. “He’s asleep,” he managed.

His father’s smile softened. “Best thing for him. We’ll meet when he’s rested.”

Horatio nodded gratefully. Will must have explained at least the outline of the situation.

His father turned to face the rest of the group. “And you must be Archie’s family,” he said, still keeping his voice down so as not to disrupt Archie.

Lady Kennedy stepped over to meet him and shook his hand. “Dr. Hornblower, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Archie’s mother, Fiona. This is my husband, Reginald, and these are our other children, Alastair and Izzy.”

Horatio’s father shook hands with each of them in turn. “Quentin, please.” He turned to the remaining people. “Victoria,” he said, clasping her hand, “it’s good to see you again.” He turned again. “And you must be Hannah. Thank you for saving Horatio’s life.”

Hannah shook his hand. “I’m just sorry I didn’t stop Simpson sooner.”

Horatio’s father shook his head, an understanding smile flitting across his features. “From what I’ve gathered, you did well to stop him at all.” He turned back to the bed. “Horatio, would you be willing to let me take a look at your chart? I’m sure the doctors and nurses have done a fine job, but I’d feel better for having seen the data for myself.”

Horatio nodded, and the room stayed silent as his father began to work. Horatio watched him, the faint frown as he studied the x-rays, borne of concentration rather than of concern, the slight squint as he glanced up at the monitor, the gentle tilt of his head as he ran over alternate potential treatments in his mind. For a moment, Horatio forgot that he was himself the patient, as the comfort of something so habitual washed over him.

“Everything seems in order,” his father said at last. “You’ve been well-looked after here. I couldn’t have done better myself.” He smiled faintly. “The break was comparatively smooth and should heal nicely, no damage to surrounding nerves or muscles, and the concussion and rib damage appear minor.” He paused, then frowned slightly. “But I noticed it’s been several hours since your last dose of pain medicine. I’d hazard a guess that this is at your request?”

Horatio winced, then glanced at Will, who was watching him, eyebrow pointedly raised, and his arms crossed over his chest. He swallowed. “Er . . . yes. They make it difficult to stay conscious. I’d . . . prefer not to sleep just yet.”

His father shook his head, a fond smile flickering over his face. “Very well. But we’ll revisit the question once Archie’s awake.”

Horatio’s eyebrow shot up. How had his father figured it out so quickly?

Horatio’s father’s lips twitched with some private amusement, and he turned around and faced the group again. “It seems I interrupted a conversation earlier. What were we discussing?”

Lord Kennedy had been watching him closely with a vaguely squinting expression, which was erased with a blink and a small shake of his head. “Er, we were thanking Horatio for everything he’s done for our son. You must be very proud.”

Horatio’s father nodded “I am,” he said quietly. He paused, then smiled. “And it seems Archie has made quite the impression on Horatio. I’ve rarely heard him happier.”

Horatio blushed. He hadn’t realized he’d been so effusive about Archie in his emails to his father.

“Archie as well,” Lady Kennedy jumped in. “We spoke a few days after they’d begun dating. I hadn’t heard him sound that alive in years.”

Horatio blushed further. Surely she was being hyperbolic.

Horatio’s father smiled again, then glanced over at Horatio. His smile slipped slightly. “Horatio,” he started, “Will tells me that you three had a lovely visit on Sunday. What all did you see?”

“Well,” he began, “Archie and Will hadn’t seen the rest of the National Maritime Museum, so of course we went there. And then we did some souvenir shopping at the Clock Tower Market--” his father raised an eyebrow, “--and then had Indian food--” his father raised his eyebrow still further, “--and then went on the Emirates Air Line’s cable car.”

Horatio’s father tilted his head, narrowed his eyes, then looked over at Will. “A cable car. Hmm. And how was that?”

Will shifted in his seat. “The view was lovely. But it had rather a lot of stairs.”

Horatio’s father’s eyebrow jumped up again.

Will shrugged. “It broke down while we were at the top. We had to climb the 90 metres down.”

Horatio glared at him. Will pretended not to notice.

He sighed, then looked up to find his father watching him, his forehead wrinkled with concern.

“That sounds . . . challenging,” his father said at last.

Horatio clenched his jaw. “It was perfectly fine. We all made it down intact.”

“Thanks to Archie,” Will said calmly. “He made sure we stayed in step, kept us from falling, and spoke to the customer service representatives once we reached the ground. We couldn’t have done it without him.”

Horatio scowled. Yes, his cable car idea had nearly ended in disaster, but there was no need for Will to go about parading his failing like that, and in front of his father and Archie’s family no less. What would they think of the fact that Archie had been forced to save the day, and--

Oh.

Will wasn’t insulting him. He was praising Archie. He was showing everyone Archie’s courage, his confidence and leadership under fire. His bravery.

Horatio swallowed down his pride, then nodded. “And Archie helped take my mind off my . . . . dislike of heights.”

Horatio’s father stared at him a moment, his head tilted and his forehead creased, before a small smile wiped the prior expression away. “Well, it's especially fortunate he was there, then.”

“But . . . but that’s dangerous!” Alastair blurted out. “What if Archie’d had a seizure? You could have all been killed! We should call Tamsin, and at least register a complaint, or maybe inquire about a lawsuit--”

Horatio shook his head. “No, it’s alright. We’ll just . . . give it a wide berth in future.”

Alastair frowned. “But--”

The curtain pulled back again, this time, to reveal Nurse Rashidi. “Ah, I see the group has grown,” she said, glancing around the room with a faint frown. She eyes focused on the newest addition. “Are you Horatio’s father?”

“I am,” he said. “Dr. Quentin Hornblower. And I want to thank you for taking such good care of Horatio. I hope you don’t mind that I took a quick look at his chart. I imagined that would be quicker and less intrusive than flagging you down to ask questions while you were on your rounds.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Hornblower,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m Nurse Rashidi. As you can see, everything went smoothly. We should be ready to discharge him soon.”

Horatio sat up slightly, ignoring the sudden, insistent throbbing of his arm. “What about Archie?”

Nurse Rashidi smiled as she checked Archie’s vitals. “He’s doing better. He should be able to leave when you do. Has he woken up recently?”

Horatio shook his head, trying not to grit his teeth against the pain.

“In that case, I’d recommend letting him sleep a little longer. He needs the rest, and we don’t have a shortage of beds at the moment. All going well, I’ll be back in forty five minutes or so to discharge you both.” She started walking towards the curtain, then paused and turned back to face him. “Any chance you’ve changed your mind about the pain meds?”

Horatio shook his head. The pain didn’t matter. He had to stay awake until Archie woke up. “I think I’ll wait awhile longer.”

She frowned again. “Are you sure? It’s important to stay ahead of pain. It’s much more effective to take painkillers on a regular schedule than to only use them when you’re in agony.”

Horatio nodded. “I’m sure,” he said as he tried to ignore the beads of sweat that had started forming on his forehead.

She sighed. “If you insist,” she said, before leaving their enclosure and drawing the curtain shut behind her.

Horatio’s father frowned, then turned to look at Horatio. “If you’re set against medication, will you at least consider closing your eyes for awhile? The body needs rest to recover, Horatio.”

Horatio swallowed and shook his head again, making sure to move slowly so as to reduce the fire raging in his arm. “I’m fine.”

Will frowned and took a step closer to the bed. “We can come back later, Horatio.”

Horatio glared at him.

Will narrowed his eyes. “Archie won’t be happy about this,” he said quietly.

Horatio bit back on the urge to snap back that Archie was asleep so it didn’t matter what he wanted. He opted for saying nothing. He resolutely met Will’s eyes instead.

After a moment, Will sighed and shook his head. “Have it your way,” he murmured.

Izzy frowned, squinted slightly, then suddenly turned her head to look at Will, a glimmer of a smile flitting over her face. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m in need of a stretch,” she said, standing up. “A brief walk outside seems like just the thing. Who’s with me? Will?”

Will turned to look at her, his eyebrow raised, then his eyes widened fractionally. He nodded as he stood up. “Good thinking.”

“Count me in,” Victoria said as she and Hannah got up in unison.

Izzy smiled broadly. “Excellent. Alastair?”

Alastair frowned. “What?”

Izzy glared pointedly at Alastair for several seconds. “What? OH!” he said at last, his eyes widening. “A walk! Yes. I like walking.”

Izzy rolled her eyes.

Horatio glowered at them. Their tip-toeing around him like this was vaguely insulting. “I do in fact know what you’re doing,” he grumbled.

Izzy snorted. “Of course you do. We Kennedys are many things, Horatio. Subtle isn’t one of them.”

Victoria giggled. The corner of Will’s lips started twitching. Alastair looked vaguely affronted.

Izzy grinned, then turned to look at Horatio. “That reminds me, did Archie ever tell you how he convinced our father to sign him up for dance lessons?”

Horatio shook his head.

“Well, he’d just seen the musical Billy Eliott, about a boy from a coal mining town who wants to be a dancer--”

“Hold on,” Alastair interrupted, “are we not going on a walk now?”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “In a minute. This is a good story. So, anyway, we’d seen it together in the West End, and Archie became obsessed. He memorized all the songs, and gave the dance routines his best shot as well, much to our concern.” She chuckled and shook her head. “He kept crashing into walls because he didn’t know how to spot during his spins.”

“Oh, God, I remember that now,” Alastair groaned. “What was that song he and Charlie spent all summer singing and prancing about to?”

Izzy raised an eyebrow. “It was called ‘Expressing Yourself.’”

“That’s the one,” Alastair said with a sigh.

Lady Kennedy glanced down at Archie with a fond smile. “I still remember all the words, a decade later.”

Izzy grinned. “It’d be hard to forget. But, back to the point, as you might imagine, every other sentence out of his mouth was about wanting to take dance lessons. He must have decided he’d been too subtle, because one evening, he said he had an announcement, and brought us all to his little stage.”

Lady Kennedy chuckled quietly, her eyes shining as she looked down at Archie. “He did a full rendition of the song ‘Electricity,’ including his own attempt at the dance routine.”

“Which he concluded by presenting Father with a petition, written in his best calligraphy, containing an itemized list of reasons he should be allowed to take dance lessons,” Izzy said with a grin.

Lady Kennedy smiled. “It’s still hanging in our bedroom.”

Lord Kennedy cleared his throat. “Well, he made a compelling case.”

Alastair’s expression softened, and he looked over at Archie with a faint, sad smile. “He always did know what he wanted.”

Horatio’s father raised an eyebrow. “How old was he?”

Lady Kennedy chuckled. “Eleven.”

An image of a small, earnest version of Archie, dancing and singing and making petitions, floated through Horatio’s mind. He huffed out a quiet laugh and held Archie more tightly, the vision an anodyne better than any drug.

Archie pressed his face further against Horatio’s chest with a soft, quiet grunt.

Horatio’s heart sped up.

Everyone snapped to attention. Izzy grabbed Alastair’s hand.

Archie’s eyelids twitched. After a brief struggle, he opened one eye, and then the other. He stared dazedly at Horatio’s hospital gown, blinked, then slowly tilted his head up to meet Horatio’s eyes, a sleepy, sunny smile lighting up his face.

“’Lo, love,” Archie mumbled, still more asleep than awake.

Horatio almost wept with joy.

It was going to be alright.